Again, I think the guys we grabbed at WR have some upside to work with, its just a matter of developing that which I worry about. If we can get these guys to produce for us, then I'd say this was a successful draft.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by WMD

Jesse realizing Walt was Santa Claus could really shake things up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gpngc

I don't know how old you are, but if you can get to 24/25 without getting arrested or killed, you've done well for yourself lol.

Guys I frankly loved this draft. Everybody we got with the exception of Harmon and Ryan bring something to the table that we don't have. Guys like Boyce, Collins, and Dobson are major boom or bust guys, but if a single one of them booms then this was a successful draft. We haven't ever had a guy in the BB era who brought what those 3 could potentially could.

I suspect Ryan to be a lot like Dennard or a Hobbs type which is fine for a 3rd round pick, and he's probably a 2-3ish guy for his entire career. In case of a Dowling and Talib injury Ryan can go outside instead of Arrington which with safety help over the top is a lot better than what Arrington brings in the same situation. Harmon I honestly haven't seen enough of to make any kind of an assessment on. At least the one thing I did see of him was very impressive unlike the Wilson tape last year that made him look awful. He accelerates quickly and closes on deep routes fast which is always something you can use. I think as a Trio our SS position has a pretty diverse skill set (T. Wilson covering TE's, A. Wilson as a box guy, and Harmon as an extra cover guy for cover 2 looks). His selection was much more palatable than the Wilson one last year.

Finally the 2 seventh round picks were good as well. Buchanon has nice tools for a 7th round pass rusher, and I loved what I saw from Beauharnais in the coaches tape from Youtube. He's a lot more fluid than I was expecting, and he looked good turning and running with guys down the field.

Finally the Blount trade is interesting. I don't expect him to make the team out of camp, but if he does I could see him as a guy who could win a game for us at one point in time. He's the most talented RB on the roster, and he tends to explode in spurts. Maybe one game he'll be the most successful guy and we'll feed him the rock for 150 yards or so. He's definitely not a long term solution, but he could be the difference in a single game.

Comparing it to last year's fairly successful draft, I think we did a better job finding guys who complement the talent that we already had with far less overall pick value. We can survive a draft without a good pick, which is why taking chances now while we can is a good decision.

I just don't think the Pats got any starters out of this draft, and that's really disappointing. People gush over the haul they got from the Vikings, but they didn't really do anything with it. I'd rather have Patterson than all of the rest of the players they drafted.

I did not like Patterson at all he is more Chad Jackson than anyone in this draft, if Dobson didn't get injured towards the end and miss the all star games we would of seen how good he can be. He is a former basketball player so he constantly blocks out his oppenent and get the ball at the highest point. Great hands with a big catch radius, will see a lot of red zone opps.

Boyce is that strong tough WR with deep speed we so badly needed, if not for the injured foot would of been a third rounder. Very smart, picks up plays quickly.

How can you not like Collins, put him on a SEC team and he is a first round pick. bone of the top coverage LB, played S asa freshamn, MLB as a SO, 34 OLB as a Jr and DE as a Sr. He has got the bend and dip you need from pass rushers, can see him in a Ninkovich and Spikes roll on third downs.

I like the Ryan pick and I agree harmon is a that deep zone safety we don't have.

Buchannon is our Denard pick, what a steal....watch his 2011 tapes and come back...That entire team looked bad this past season.

With that said, this draft certainly has the potential to be of non existent impact for this team moving forward. I don't disagree, but that isn't because we passed up on Patterson, who would have been just as likely to contribute to that scenario.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by WMD

Jesse realizing Walt was Santa Claus could really shake things up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gpngc

I don't know how old you are, but if you can get to 24/25 without getting arrested or killed, you've done well for yourself lol.

Dude your love of Patterson for this team is so ridiculously unfounded. If you want to talk about starters, Patterson wouldn't be ready to play for this offense for at least EVER. Get over it.

Fixed that for you Jvig.

If Patterson played for the Pats I would be shocked if he was ever targetted past the line of scrimmage. He can't run routes and struggled to pick up a college offense. He can't play for the Pats, period. It would be Chad Ocho Johnson x100

I have to agree. As tempting as Patterson was, he is a very risky pick and his selection would have necessitated the selection of another receiver in round 2. I like how we handled our receiver situation. Boyce and Dobson hedge the risk each possesses, and they bring the vertical element the Pats needed without the risk that Patterson presented. The team didn't need Patterson to turn into the bigger Percy Harvin that some think he can be, instead they needed somebody who can get down the field and occasionally stretch out the defense. I'll take Collins, Ryan, Boyce, and Blount over just Patterson.

Boyce and Dobson are both just as risky - probably moreso - as Patterson. And I'm not"obsessed" with Patterson. It's an awful trend of refusing to take the guy that's falling into their lap and then watching that guy become a Hall of Fame caliber player at a position they needed desperately.

Clay Matthews, Steven Jackson...

Didn't have to be Patterson. I liked Hunter more. They had their pick of the litter and deferred.

This year has been the weakest ever for my, personally, in terms of learning about prospects and their potential fit for the Patriots. With that said, obviously the draft list reads like a laundry list of everything we've hoped for on a year to year basis.

Boyce and Dobson are both just as risky - probably moreso - as Patterson. And I'm not"obsessed" with Patterson. It's an awful trend of refusing to take the guy that's falling into their lap and then watching that guy become a Hall of Fame caliber player at a position they needed desperately.

Clay Matthews, Steven Jackson...

Didn't have to be Patterson. I liked Hunter more. They had their pick of the litter and deferred.

I hope you realize that the Patriots choose Vince Wilfork over Steven Jackson.

The Patriots just signed Joe Vellano. I used to go to Maryland and would say that Vellano is the ideal Belichick player. He's pretty undersized for a DT, but that worked to his advantage at Maryland as he was able to get low and get off blocks pretty well. He led the Terps in TFL the past three years. He is really good at getting in the backfield and getting to the ball carrier. He has a high motor and plays sideline to sideline. During the 2011 2-10 season Vellano was few reasons to watch the Terps and was clearly the best player on the team. I will always remember his performance against Georgia Tech in 2011, as a DT he had a total of 20 tackles in that game, 14 of which were solo. I'll be pulling for him in NE.

Three questions:
1. How do you know they could have "easily" moved up to get him? Maybe they tried and couldn't get it done.
2. How could they have even made that move up? They didn't have a second round pick to offer. Which brings me to number three...
3. Why would they even have needed to trade up to get Jackson when they had just traded their second round pick for Corey Dillon?

Getting all the big name players doesn't guarantee a Super Bowl. I like the picks of Dobson and Boyce. Second tier players like these are often every bit as talented and athletic as the first round picks, and have more to prove yet with lower expectations. I personally love having players like that on the team.

This is getting ridiculous. Patterson is the biggest boom or bust guy in the entire draft. There is a very significant chance he will never amount to anything more than a gadget player in the NFL who can't win against any coverage.

Justin Hunter was a guy I really liked and thought he had a high upside, but he had real questions over his hands and concentration levels.

Aaron Dobson has great hands, not good, great. He is also a strider who is sneaky fast when he gets going. He isn't the finished product but he is far less of a developmental player than either of the Tennessee guys. As for Dobson, I think he can step in day one and make an impact.

Aaron Dobson has great hands, not good, great. He is also a strider who is sneaky fast when he gets going. He isn't the finished product but he is far less of a developmental player than either of the Tennessee guys. As for Dobson, I think he can step in day one and make an impact.

Dobson is definitely more of a developmental project than Hunter. Hunter's hands might suck but he was a fairly polished product.

The big difference is having 2 rookies instead of 1. Dobson and Boyce are coming in on essentially equal standing. Whichever one comes in and works harder will get rewarded with snaps. It places the onus on them to develop since if they don't they will get Taylor Priced very quickly. If we got a Patterson or a Hunter they may been the only new receiver with talent in camp. We would have had to accept whatever they could contribute.

This way we hedged against the potential failure of one of them with the other. Plus it's fairly common for day 2 or 3 receivers to contribute year 1. Dobson and Boyce don't lack talent, they just weren't incredibly productive college receivers. The same thing happened with Gordon and Hilton last year, and maybe their production could spike when they hit the NFL just like it did for them.

Collins: Wow, he plays the read option very well. Very impressed with that.
Dobson: Dude can make some ridiculous one hand grabs. Very good at going up to get it
Huron: Very good closing speed. Decent tackler. Needs to improve there.

He probably only has a 25% chance of being good which I'm fine with. Pass rushers with his talent level don't last until late 2nd round unless they have issues. If he's good he changes our defense entirely. If he sucks then he is just another in a long line of crappy 2nd round picks.